Drive for motor-vehicles.



A M. WOODS.

DRIVE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 22, 1914.

Patented May 16, 1916.. Z SHEET$$HEET l.

4, fill/klJ/M 116104;; V Inventor 1 Attorneys Witnesses A. M. WOODS.DRIVE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION HLED sEP iZ. m4.

Patented May16,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- r I Attorn eys ARTHUR M. WOODS, F BA LSORA, TEXAS.

DRIVE FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

P tented May 1c, 3916.-

npplicetion filed September 22, 1914. Serial No. 863,048.

T 0 all whom it may concern e Be it known that I, ARTHUR .i. Woons, acitizen of the United States, residing at Balsora, in the county of Wiseand State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Drive forMotor-Vehicles, of which the, following is a specification.

This invention relates to drives for motor vehicles, its principalobject being to provide means whereby front wheels of a motor vehiclecan driven by motor without interfering with the action of the wheels insteering.

A further object to provide simple, durable and compact means formounting and connecting the front wheels, the said mechanism beingprotected from dust and moisture and the various parts thereof be ingreadily assembled or'taken apart for the purpose of cleaning andrepairing them.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, ihe invention resides in 'the combination auderrangernent of parts and in Z the details of construction hereinafterde of the universal joint being removed. Fig

3 is a perspective view of one member of the universal joint. Fig. i isa perspective view of the other member of said joint. Fl is aperspective view clone of the bearing rings of the universal joint.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates aportion of the outer or tubular axle which is, in the present case.provided at the front end of the vehicle, this outer or tubular axlecorresponding with that ordinarily employed in connection with the rearor usual driving wheels of a motor vehicle. A yoke 2 is connected to theend of the axle 1 and is provided at its ends with an upper bearing cup3 and a lower bearing stud 4.. The cup 3 is designed to receive anupwardly extending stud 5 'formed upon the upper end of another yoke 6,the lower end of this yoke 6 being provided with a bearing cup 7 intowhich exd2? tends the stud i. Suitable anti-friction devices such asballs 8 are provided for re ducing friction between the stud and cup andconnecting bolts 9- extend through studs and cups as shown. Yoke 6 hasan integral extension 10 within which are housed unti-friction rollers11 or the like constituting bearings for spindle 12 which is mounted forrotation within the extension 10 and projects ousweirdly therebeyond.The inner end or the spindle 12 is provided with a yoke 13 i ingoppositely extending trunnions 1i yoke 13 is disposed opposite and.angles to another yoke 15 prov'ded outer end of a drive shaft 16 mounirotation in the tubular axle 1. Yoke oppositely eXtending-trunnions 17at right angles to the irunnions 1 trunnions 11 and 17 are interposed bsw two bearing rings 18, each or" which is pro vided with recesses 19 inthe trunnions are adapted to work, shown ticularlv in Fig. 2. The ringsare hel gether by means of bolts 20 and, when thus assembled, serve toprevent displacement of 'the yokes 13 and 15 relative to each other.

For the purpose of protecting the universal joint formed of the yolres13 and 15 from dust and moisture, a housing is provided between theyokes 2 and 6. One of the members of the housing is substantiallycupshaped, as shown at 21 and has a sleeve 22 mounted on the shaft 16and projecting into the axle l. The other member of the housing is madeup of oppositely disposed semi-circular hands rounded transversely anddetachably connected at their ends, as shown at 2%. Ears 25 extend fromthe bands 23 and are detnchahly secured to in yoke J as shown. Themember 21 is de signed to lit snugly and to work within the other memberof the housing during the. movement of the yoke 6 relative to the yoke-The hub 26 of the wheel is fitted loosely upon the extension 10 and isprovided. on its outer side at the'center thcreof with u heavy boss orextension 27 which is keyed of the extension by the spindle 12 and therollers 11. Any suitable means such as a packing ring 28 can be proxided for preventing the admission of dust and n'ioisture into the spacebetween the hub and the outer surface of the extension 10.

it will be apparent of course that by proriding the yokes 2 and 6connected in the manner disclosed the front wheel can be swung about thebolts 9 as an axis for the purpose of steering the Vehicle. During; thissteering operation the yoke 13 will swing relative to the yoke 15 nomatter in what position said yokes may be during their rotation underthe action of the shaft 16. In other words, the yokes 13 and 15 andtheir connecting or bearingrings 15 form a universal joint so thatmotion will always be transmitted from shaft 16 to spindle 1'! no matterwhat angular adjustment of the ex tension 10 relative to the axle 1 maybe effected. Thus it will be seen that power can be transmitted directlyto the front or steer ing wheels the 'mechanism for this purpose beingsimple, durable and compact. completely protected from dust andmoisture, and easily accessible for the purpose of making repairs or forcleaning.

By constructing and assembling, the parts described, the inter-fittingmembers :21 and 23 can be utilized as an oil cup from which oil will bedistributed along the axis 1'6 and tothe spindle 1'3. this oil containerbeing of such capacity as to require renewing only after long intervals.A spacing collar 29 is mounted on the spindle 12 close to the yoke 13and is designed to hold the yoke 13 properly positioned. Should thiscollar 29 become worn, the play can be taken up by inserting a washer. Asleeve 22 can be secured within the axle 1 in any suitable manner, bymeans of a set screw 30.

hat is; claimed is The con'lbination with pivotally connected yokes, atubular axle extending from oneof the yokes, and a bearing extensionupon the other yoke, of a spindle journaled members normally fittingclose together and cooperating to form a lubricant receptacle.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence'of two Witnesses.

ARTHUR M. l/VOODS.

Witnesses:

J. M. GREGG, BEN J. TRAMMELL.

